Various solvents have been employed to extract oil from cottonseed meal. Hexane is the most extensively used solvent in the cottonseed processing industry. While cottonseed oil is very soluble in hexane, the toxic components such as aflatoxin and gossypol are not, and thus much of this toxic material remains in the extracted meal following hexane extraction, lowering the value of the meal. The gossypol is in the form of free gossypol, which is toxic, and bound gossypol, in combination with lysine, which is not toxic but decreases the protein content of the meal. The aflatoxin remaining with the meal is a toxic residue which reduces the value of the meal
It would be useful to have a process which simultaneously removes oil, aflatoxin and gossypol resulting in an increase in the value of extracted cottonseed meal.